Okay, two demos here, one old, one new. Bear with me, this'll be a hefty post.
I've been out of it for ages, so I never got around to announcing the release of [Phobos Project], an RPG demo by Technetium. This is a fairly traditional RPG with a Final Fantasy-style real-time battle system and a fair bit of demo content.
Phobos has a very solid battle system and interface, and the enemy art is probably the best I've seen in a VERGE game -- very well-done static drawings that use translucency to great effect. The rest of the graphics aren't quite as nice, but I really liked some of the transitions and effects. You won't find any big surprises in the system or plot, but it's all put together very nicely, and it seems more or less complete, system-wise -- there's magic, items, status effects, shops, and a full complement of gear.
There were two things about PP that bugged me -- the music is kind of bleh, and the walking speed is really, really slow. That's not too bad, though -- all the elements of a full game are in place, which is more than can be said of most VERGE demos.
The other, more recent demo is Ness's [Time Keepers], in which you play a time-travelling thief. This is an action game emphasizing fireplay and evasion, and it's a lot of fun.
Time Keepers has a very nice customizable interface; I quite liked using a gamepad for it. There's just enough plot at this point to provide context, but the main thing to see here is the gameplay, which is interesting and enjoyable. There are a lot of little touches that I like: guards say things when they encounter you and when you shoot them, and they'll chase you around for a while if they spot you. The pathing can be a bit wonky, but I'm impressed that it has it at all. The game's graphics are also quite nice.
I found the demo a rather hard considering that there's no save function and the game boots you out if you die. The weapon you have for the main scenario is a tranquilizer gun that takes a while to take effect, and for one area I could only get by by shooting people with it and then run back downstairs where they wouldn't follow and waiting for them to pass out. Also, the text speed is inexcusably slow given that there's no way to speed it up -- I started using the fast-foward key on every conversation after my first death. There really isn't much to complain about, though. This game is rock solid.
This is a very short demo. There's enough there to give you the gist of it and whet your appetite for more. God willing and the cricks don't rise, we'll see this expanded on in the months to come.
